Zac Balhorn

Thesis 1/27/2017

Optimization of Single Story Multi-Elevation Structures

1. Structure Classification

In order to perform structural optimization, the structures itself along with its associated
parameters need to be specified. To begin, the final structure to be optimized will consist of
a single story, made primarily of steel. With steel as the main material, this will ensure that
the weight optimization formulation used will be an accurate depiction of the optimal
structure.For the roof itself,it will be composed of interior bar joists and perimeter wide
flange beams. For design purposes, an arbitrary metal deck will cover the roof to provide
lateral stability, and top flange bracing for both the bar joists and wide flange beams. The
roof will also be supported by hollow structural steel (HSS) columns in specified locations.
Not to mention, an arbitrary metal stud exterior wall will also be utilized to ensure later
loading is transferred successfully to the metal deck diaphragm and the ground. Note that
both the metal deck and exterior metal stud wall will not be included in the optimization.
Lastly, a separate optimization will be performed on carbon emissions, to determine the
minimum amount of emissions being created in the fabrication of the steel members that
are incorporated into the shell structure. In order to simplify the classification of the
structure, this document is divided into three sections: 1) 2-D Roof Structure 2) 3-D Building
Structure, and 3) Carbon Emissions.

1.1 Roof Structure (Beams/Joists)

In order to optimize the roof structure, many parameters which contribute to the
ultimate design of each of the members need to be defined. These parameters first and
foremost include the geometry of the roof plan itself, as well as the cross sectional
properties of the members. As for the roof geometry, the spacing of interior bar joists, span
lengths, and bay elevations are fundamental variables which are essential to determining
the loads being applied to each of the members. The roof geometry will then be divided
into multiple rectangular bays of different sizes, which will have varying elevations over the
layout of the building. Each bay will comprise of interior bar joists at a specified spacing,
surrounded by wide flange beams around the perimeter. The bays themselves will be
configured in a manner where the beams will either span directly North-South, or East West,
resulting in a framed structure in which all joists and girders are at 90 angles to one another
with respect to the adjacent bays. Example roof structures can be seen in Figures 1-3 on the
following two pages. Note the complexity and magnitude vary with each of the three
structures presented, demonstrating the wide range of structures that the program will be
capable of optimizing.

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It is important to note that although the span directions for each bay of the three
preceding examples are consistent with each other, the goal is to develop a program which
can evaluate the two span directions previously described. It is also vital that a roof
diaphragm in the form of a flexible metal deck be assigned to each bay. Although the metal
deck will not be included in the ultimate optimization of the structure, it provides both top
flange bracing, and lateral resistance in the form of a diaphragm. This topic will be
described in further later on in the dissertation process, as it is vital to the distribution of
loads throughout the structure, and also its stability.

With regard to the optimization aspect, cross sectional characteristics for the wide flange
members will be evaluated. This is due to the fact that in order to minimize the weight of
the structure, the cross sectional area and length of the beam need to be found to
determine the total volume of steel used for each member. Cross sectional properties used
to calculate the cross sectional area will include depth, flange width, flange thickness, web
thickness, etc. Other parameters such as braced and unbraced lengths, which will directly
correspond with the joist spacing, will also need to be specified in the design of the beam.
As for the joists, in the field, joists are usually designated by evaluating the full uniform
distributed load being applied to the joist. Although the loading conditions will not be
described in detail in this document, a simplified uniform loading will be calculated in the
program using geometry parameters such as tributary area and length. Furthermore, in
order to optimize the bar joists by their weight, a steel joist manufacturer will need to be
specified. This is necessary due to the fact that economical joist tables are available which
help determine the most cost-effective joist based on relative cost. Although these tables
are based on the relative cost used to fabricate the joist, the cost is directly correlated with
the approximate weight per foot (including bridging) of the joist itself under almost all
circumstances. An example of a joist manufacturer who provides the economical joist guide
described is "Nucor: Vulcraft Group". Note that all joists designed by Vulcraft conform to
specifications defined by the Steel Joist Institute (SJI). As a result of using bar joists in the
roof structure, restrictions must be placed on the span length of the joists. In order to
specify joists of either "K" or "LH" Series designations, a maximum span length of 60 feet
must be enforced. Other stipulations associated with the utilization of bar joists will be
covered in subsequent documents when loading conditions are described. Now that the
roof structure has been described, the 3-D aspect of the building needs to be accounted for.

1.2 Building Structure (Columns Included)

In order to complete the steel shell of the structure, square HSS columns will also need
to be optimized. These columns will be incorporated into the structure whereas each corner

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of each bay will have a column assigned to it. Considering the fact that the bays will have
other bays adjacent to them, single columns can serve as structural support to multiple
bays. Furthermore, since bays attributed to certain columns can have varying elevations,
column heights will be directly correlated to maximum bay height out of each of the bay
heights of which it is supporting. The tributary area of each column will also correspond to
the number of bays it supports, and their associated dimensions. Once the location and
height of each column have been specified, cross sectional characteristics, and ultimately
the steel volume of the columns will have to be evaluated by the program to find the
optimized weight of the entire structure. These cross sectional properties for HSS columns
will include the depth and width (which are equal for a square HSS), the wall thickness, and
also the values of curvature at the corners of the cross section. The cross sectional area
needs to be as exact as possible considering the contributing steel can make a difference on
the total weight for structures of large magnitude. Other factors, associated with the design
of the column will also be included in subsequent documents. Example building structures
which includeboth the roof and columns are displayed in Figure 4-6 on the following pages.
These structures correspond with the roof plans presented in Figures 1-3.

Note that X-bracing is visible within the structure of Figure 6. The design of x-bracing
will not be included in this weight optimization. Additionally, you can see in the previous
three figures the locations of columns with respect to the multiple bays of each structure.
Once again, for design purposes, it is important to note that these structures have an
exterior wall framed with cold-formed steel metal studs, which serve as a load path for
lateral loads being transferred to both the diaphragm and ground level, and not the columns
themselves. Another important parameter associated with the exterior stud walls is their
height at all locations around the perimeter of the building. Buildings usually contain a
parapet wall which extends past the roof height for a variety of reasons. This is important to
include due to the snow drift load conditions that will be evident in the design process. A
detail illustrating the concept of the parapet as well as the metal deck running perpendicular
to the joist direction is provided in Figure 7 on the following page.

Lastly, additional details have been added below to further portray the structural
characteristics of the building that impact the design of the building. Figure 8 below
represents a situation where adjacent bays are at the same elevation. Figure 9 below
represents a condition of a column at the corner of a bay. Figure 10 shows an interior beam
supporting joists of adjacent bays. And finally, Figure 11 contains a detail in which two
adjacent bays have different roof elevations, where two separate beams are required to
support the bar joists.

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2. Loading Criteria

2.1 Load Cases

In order to determine subsequent load cases, the geometry of the structure needs to be
initialized. Although the structure of interest was defined in the previous document
Optimization of Single Story Multi-Elevation Structures: Structure Classification, the
necessary input characterizing the geometry is listed below.

Input (Geometry)

- NB = number of bays
- LBi = Length of bay i = 1NB
- WBi = Width of bay i = 1NB
- SBi = joist spacing of bay i = 1NB
- Pi = Parapet height of bay i = 1n REMOVE AND JUST SPECIFY DRIFT
- HBi = Roof Height of bay i = 1NB

2.2 Load Cases

All of the loading conditions described in this section are defined by specifications set
forth by the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE 7-10), which is directly referenced as
the building standard of the United States by the International Building Code (IBC 2012).
First, the weight of construction materials built into the roof structure will be the applied
dead load, which will be assumed as 20 psf with no additional concentrated loads for the
purpose of simplicity in optimization. Next, the roof live load which is the result of
maintenance or the movement of objects on the roof throughout the life of a structure will
also be applied. The structure being analyzed is considered as an ordinary roof, and will have
a fixed roof live load of 20 psf per Table 4-1 of ASCE 7-10. The roof live load will also be
subject to live load reduction to further optimize the cost of the roof structure. The reduced
roof live load, Lr, shall be determined as

Lr=L o R1 R2 (25)

Where Lo equal to 20 psf is the unreduced live load per ft2 of tributary area supported by
the member, reduction factor R2 equals 1 since the roof structure is flat, and reduction
factor R1 is calculated in the following equation:

2
R1=1 for A T 200 ft
2 2
1.20.001 A t for 200 ft < AT < 600 ft
2
0.6 for A T 600 ft (26)

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Note that AT is the tributary area in ft2 supported by the member, and that no additional
concentrated loads will be applied to the roof structure in order to simply the analysis.

Next the wind load determined through the components and cladding procedure
specified in Chapter 30 of ASCE 7-10 will be applied. More specifically, the Low-Rise Building
(Simplified) method will be used to determine the magnitude of wind loading considering
the building being analyzed is a one story building, and 60' in height. Lastly, Chapter 7
of ASCE 7-10 describes the method applying snow loads to a flat roof structure, which also
contains parapets around the perimeter of the building. According to Section 7.7, drift loads
shall be superimposed on the balanced snow load. The balanced snow load will also be
assumed as 20 psf considering snow loading magnitude varies across geographical location.
As for the drift loading, the surcharge loading and drift width at different locations on the
roof structure will be calculated according to the building geometry, which ultimately are
governed by the fetch length and drift height. The load case inputs described previously are
all listed below.

Input (Loading)

- DL = Dead load (psf)

- RL = Roof Live Load (psf)
- WL = Wind Load Components and Cladding (psf)
- SL = Uniform Roof Design Snow Load (psf)
- SDi1 = Snow Drift surcharge load, 1st side bay i = 1n
- SDi2 = Snow Drift surcharge load, 2nd side bay i = 1n
- SDi3 = Snow Drift surcharge load, 3rd side bay i = 1n
- SDi4 = Snow Drift surcharge load, 4th side bay i = 1n

Once all load cases have been specified, Factored Loads using strength design (LRFD) as
specified in Chapter 2 of ASCE 7-10 will be applied to each member to determine the
member size. The applicable combinations are presented below:

1.4D (1)
1.2DL + 1.6L + 0.5(LR or S or R)(2)
1.2D + 1.6(LR or S or R) + (L or 0.5W) (3)
1.2D + 1.0W + L + 0.5(LR or S or R) (4)
1.2D + 1.0E + L + 0.2S (5)
0.9D + 1.0W (6)
0.9D + 1.0E (7)

Note that the live load L, rain load R, and the earthquake load E are not applicable for this
analysis.

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3. Cost Function

In order to optimize the structure with regards to cost, a cost function first needs to be
defined. A total cost formulation is presented below:

Ct ' =C ' w +C ' j (1)

where C ' w and C ' j are the costs of steel beams and open web steel joists respectively.
These cost terms are defined as

N
C ' w = A i Li c ' i (2)
i=1

M
C j= W j L j c ' j (3)
j=1

where N is the number of steel beams, L is the member length (ft) of the beam or joist,
represents the unit weight of steel ( lb/ ft 3 ), A i is the steel cross sectional area (ft2),
'
c i is the steel beam cost for materials, fabrication, and delivery perunit weight ( $ /lb
, M is the number of joists, Wj is the joist weight per unit length ( (lb/ft ) , and c ' j is the
open web steel joist cost for fabrication and delivery per unit length ( $ /lb . With this
information, a simplified total cost function is presented below:

N M
Ct = Ai Li c ' i + W j L j c ' j (4)
i=1 j=1

However, since the cost of steel for hotrolled wide flange beams, and the cost of steel varies
for K, LH, and DLH series joists, the cost function is broken down as follows

N K L J
Ct = Ai Li c ' i + W l L j c 'l + W n Ln c ' n+ W m Lm c ' m (5)
i=1 l=1 n=1 m=1
___________________________________________________________________________

To further simplify the equation with the intention to ease optimization, the cost coefficients
'
c jK , c ' n , LH , and c ' m , DLH can be normalized with respect to c i ' to be replaced
with equivalent cost rates. This is shown below:

S J,K '
c jK J , LH c ' n , LH J ,DLH c ' m, DLH
C t = A i Li+ W j L j + W n Ln + W m Lm (6)
i=1 j =1 c i ' n=1 ci ' m =1 ci '

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And to further simplify the cost function

S J,K J , LH J , DLH
Ct = Ai Li+ c K W j L j +c LH W n Ln+ c DLH W m Lm (7)
i=1 j=1 n=1 m=1

where c K is the relative unit length cost of K-series joist steel to the cost per unit
weight of steel, c LH is the relative unit length cost of LH-series joist steel to the cost
per unit weight of steel, and c DLH is the relative unit length cost of of DLH-series joist
steel to the cost per unit weight of steel. In Equation (7), the design variables are A i ,
W j , W n , and W m . To clarify, the costs to fabricate and deliver K, LH, and DLH
series joists are W j , W n , and W m respectively.

4. Design Criteria (Constraints)

4.1 Wide Flange Beams - Flexural Strength Constraints

Per AISC Chapter F of the LRFD specification, the ultimate bending moment generated in
the beam must be less than or equal to the design flexural strength as expressed below:

M u b M n , b =0.90 (8)

The following provisions assumes support points of the beams to be restrained against
torsion along the longitudinal axis of the member. From here, the lateral torsional buckling
factor which is utilized in later calculations is defined as

12.5 M max
c b= (9)
2.5 M max +3 M a +4 M b +3 M c

where M m ax is the absolute value of the maximum bending moment in the unbraced
section of the member, while M a , M b , and M c are the absolute values of bending
moment values at the quarter, mid, and three-quarter points of the member respectively.
From here, the provisions for doubly symmetric compact I-shape (compact webs and
flanges) bent about their major axis need to be stated.
It is important to note that all current ASTM A6 W-shapes meet the requirement as
being a doubly symmetric I-shaped member with exception to W21x48, W14x99, W14x90,
W12x65, W10x12, W8x31, W8x10, W6X15, W6x9, W6x8.5 shapes. For all other W shaped
sections, the Nominal flexural strength, M n , is the lowest value obtained from the
following limit states:

Limit State 1 - Yielding: M n=M p=F y Z x (10)

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Where F y is the minimum yield stress equal to 50 ksi, and Z x is the plastic section
modulus of the selected steel W-shape.

Limit State 2 - Lateral-Torsional Buckling:

Case (a): Lb L p Does not apply

Case (b):
[
L p < Lb Lr M n=C b M p ( M p0.7 F y S x )
( )]
LbL p
Lr L p
Mp (11)

Case (c): Lb > Lr M n=F cr S x M p (12)

The braced length, Lb , for the purpose of this project be taken as the joist spacing for
beams that are perpendicular to joists, and equal to zero for beams spanning parallel to the
joist direction as they are fully braced along the compression flange. The modulus of
elasticity of steel, E, is equal to 29,000 ksi. Then the torsional constant, J, the elastic section
modulus about the x-axis, S x , and the distance between the flange centroids, ho , are
all cross sectional characteristics of the W-shape specified. Furthermore, the critical
buckling stress is calculated as follows:

Lb 2

r ts

Lb 2

r ls (13)
Jc
1+0.078
Sx ho

c 2 E
F cr = b

Also, limiting lengths L p and Lr are determined as

L p=1.76 r y
E
Fy
(14)

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0.7 F y 2

E

Jc 2
+6.76
Sx ho
(15)
Jc

S x ho
E
Lr=1.95 r ts
0.7 F y
where,

r ls =
I yCw
Sx
(16)

and the coefficient c = 1 due to the fact we are dealing with doubly symmetric I-shapes.
Next, the provisions for doubly symmetric compact I-shape (compact webs and
noncompact or slender flanges) bent about their major axis need to be stated. These are
the shapes specified earlier as being of the designations W21x48, W14x99, W14x90,
W12x65, W10x12, W8x31, W8x10, W6X15, W6x9, and W6x8.5. For W-shapes of these
designations, the nominal flexural strength, M n , is the lowest value obtained from the
following limit states:

Case (a):Noncompact Flanges -> p < < r

pf
M n=M p(M p0.7 F y S x )( ) (17)
rf pf

Case (b): Slender Flanges -> > r

0.9 E k c S x
M n= (18)
2
**Slender flanges dont exist in W-shapes - Remove case
In order to determine whether the beam flanges are noncompact or slender, the width-to-
thickness ratio, , the limiting slenderness ratio for a compact flange, p , and the
limiting slenderness ratio for a noncompact flange, r , all need to be calculated as
follows:
bf
= (19)
2tf

p =0.38
E
Fy (20)

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r =1.0
E
Fy (21)

Lastly, h must be taken as the clear distance between flanges less the fillet or corner radius
at each flange, and k c is calculated as below:

4
0.76> k c = >0.35

h
tw
(22)

4.2 Wide Flange Beams Shear Strength Constraints

Per AISC Chapter G of the LRFD specification, the ultimate shear generated in the beam
must be less than or equal to the design shear strength as expressed below:

V u v V n , v =0.90 (8)

It is important to note also that if the following provision is met, the shear resistance factor
changes to what is shown below:

h
2.24 E/ F y v =1.00 (8)
tw

The nominal shear strength, Vn, for webs of doubly symmetric members subject to shear in
the webs per the limit states of shear yielding and shear buckling is calculated as follows

V n=0.6 F y A w C v (9)

Where Aw is the area of the web, and factor Cv =1.0 for all ASTM A6 W-shapes. An equations
for Aw is also presented below.

A w =d t w (10)

Where d is the depth of the wide flange member, and tw is the web thickness. The
provisions of this section also assume the wide flange beams do not have transverse
stiffeners, and that post buckling strength of the member is not utilized.

4.3 Wide Flange Beams Deflection Considerations

In order limit the amount of deflection of the steel wide flange members for practicality
purposes, a constraint specifying the deflection limit in terms of percentage length of the
member needs to be included. A simple beam case for the uniformly distributed load

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resulting from the unfactored dead and roof live loads and a partial triangular load from
drifting is described below.

5 wb L4
w= + XXX c w L (11)
384 Es I

Note that w l is the uniform unfactored dead and live loads per length, Es is the steel
modulus of elasticity, I is the moment of inertia, and cl is the deflection coefficient, in this
case equal to 1/360

4.4 Open Web Steel Bar Joists Economical Guide Constraints

Per the Steel Joist Institute (SJI), the American National Standard for open web steel
joists, joist designations can be determined using the total factored uniformly distributed
load per LRFD load factors. Standard LRFD load tables provided by Nucor: Vulcraft Group can
be utilized considering they provide the total safe uniformly distributed load for all joist
designations of K, LH, and DLH series open web steel joists. The safe allowable loads
presented in these tables are further characterized by joist length and weight according to
their respective designation. Furthermore, the tables are also listed in sequence according
to their relative cost, having the most economical joist for a given length listed first. Not to
mention a uniform load which will produce an approximate deflection of L/360 are also
included in the tables, which provides an easy solution to incorporating the deflection
criteria in the design.
In order to specify a joist designation, only the joist length and total factored uniform
load need to be defined. When using these tables it is important to note that length as used
in the economical joist table is the clear span + 8 for K-series joists, and the clear span +
12 for LH and DLH series joists. Once the length and loading are defined, an appropriate
joist which has adequate moment and shear capacity to resist the loads must be selected.
Therefore, the equivalent uniform load resulting from the maximum moment, and the
equivalent uniform load resulting in an allowable shear diagram which completely covers
the actual shear diagram must be calculated. These equations are shown below

8 M max
Maximum Moment: W eq = (23)
L2

2V end
Maximum Shear: W eq = (24)
2

Where Mmax is the maximum moment in the span, and Vend is the end shear that will
completely cover the actual shear diagram. From here, the larger of the two equivalent

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loads will govern the design, and a standard joist shall be selected from the SJI economical
joist guide tables. Once a joist designation has been selected, the joist weight and length of
span can ultimately determine the cost of each joist in the roof structure considering the
governing W eq will correspond with W j , W n , and W m from Equation (7). This
constraint is represented below:

W eq W l ,W n ,W m

4.5 Open Web Steel Bar Joists Deflection Constraints

To limit the amount of deflection of the open web steel joists, a constraint specifying the
deflection limit in terms of percentage length of the joist needs to be included. A simple
beam case for the uniformly distributed load resulting from the unfactored dead and live
loads is shown below.

4
5 wl L
j= + XXX c l L (11)
384 E s I j

All variables are the same as described in Section 2.3, except Ij is the approximate gross
moment of inertia given by SJI, and presented below:

3
I j=26.767 W J L 10
6
(17)

Note that Wj is the unfactored uniform load which will produce an approximate deflection of
L/360, which is given in the Economical joist guide provided by the SJI.

4.6 Constraint Normalization

To enhance the performance regarding structural optimization, the constraint shown

previously must be normalized. This will improve the performance of the optimization by
increasing the likeliness of reaching a global minimum solution.

Mu
1 0 (1)
b M n
Vu
1 0 (2)
v V n
W eq
1 0 (3)
Wl

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W eq
1 0 (4)
Wn
W eq
1 0 (5)
Wm
w
1 0 (6)
cw L
j
1 0 (7)
cjL

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FIGURES

Figure 1: Roof Framing Configuration #1

Figure 2: Roof Framing Configuration #2

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Figure 3: Roof Framing Configuration #3

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Figure 4: Building Structure #1

Figure 5: Building Structure #2

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Figure 6: Building Structure #6

Figure 7: Framing detail

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Figure 8: Framing Detail

Figure 9: Framing Detail

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Figure 10: Framing Detail

Figure 11: Framing Detail

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